Alexandre Cabanel (1823 - 1889) was a French painter who achieved his great importance by not following the new styles of his time. With his history paintings, portraits and mythologies, he remained true to the style of academic painting and strove more towards the art of a Michelangelo or Raffael, while his contemporaries already turned to Realism and Impressionism. The son of a carpenter, he had begun studying painting at an early age and by 1864, at the age of only forty, he had become professor at the École des Beaux-Arts and jury member of the Paris Salon.
The artist created his most famous work "The Birth of Venus" in 1863, which earned the enthusiasm of the public and the Emperor Napoleon III, who bought the painting for a record sum. Later he made copies of it himself, most of them as commissioned works. The delicate colours and balanced proportions of Venus were not celebrated by everyone and also led to criticism. However, this did not harm Cabanel's fame and reputation, he remained a respected artist for many years and exerted a great influence as a professor. Among his students was Gustave Courbet, who was at least temporarily inspired by Cabanel.
Alexandre Cabanel (1823 - 1889) was a French painter who achieved his great importance by not following the new styles of his time. With his history paintings, portraits and mythologies, he remained true to the style of academic painting and strove more towards the art of a Michelangelo or Raffael, while his contemporaries already turned to Realism and Impressionism. The son of a carpenter, he had begun studying painting at an early age and by 1864, at the age of only forty, he had become professor at the École des Beaux-Arts and jury member of the Paris Salon.
The artist created his most famous work "The Birth of Venus" in 1863, which earned the enthusiasm of the public and the Emperor Napoleon III, who bought the painting for a record sum. Later he made copies of it himself, most of them as commissioned works. The delicate colours and balanced proportions of Venus were not celebrated by everyone and also led to criticism. However, this did not harm Cabanel's fame and reputation, he remained a respected artist for many years and exerted a great influence as a professor. Among his students was Gustave Courbet, who was at least temporarily inspired by Cabanel.
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